Lobbyists would be required to pay an annual registration fee to help fund the state's starved Public Integrity Commission under a legislative proposal that Democratic lawmakers are circulating in Dover.

Delaware is one of nine states without a registration fee for lobbyists.

Rep. Darryl Scott, D-Dover, and Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, are sponsoring the proposal, which was requested by commission lawyer Deborah Moreau.

Special prosecutor E. Norman Veasey recommended in his December report imposing fees on lobbyists to provide more funding for the office, which he said was "severely hamstrung by inadequate resources," helping contribute to Delaware's "pay to play" political culture.

The commission's budget last year was just $188,500, compared to $1.5 million for a similar office in Rhode Island. It has just two employees.

"The citizens of Delaware should not have to pay taxpayer dollars for the oversight of a private industry," Moreau wrote in a letter to lawmakers. "Delaware statutes and regulations require other professions to pay licensing fees. The lobbying industry should not be carved out as an exception to that rule."

The commission, which functions as the state's ethics office, oversees finance and gift disclosure forms filed quarterly by lobbyists and annually by public officers, including lawmakers and administration officials appointed by Gov. Jack Markell. .

Veasey, a former Delaware Chief Justice, said low funding and investigative authority led the office to miss problems. His investigation revealed, for example, that several lawmakers received gifts of more than $250 but did not report them as required by state law.

Senate Majority Leader David McBride, D-Hawks Nest, received free cases of beer and vodka from liquor executive Chris Tigani's warehouse in Milford in 2008. Sokola, a sponsor of the fee legislation, received tickets from Tigani to sporting events in 2007 and 2008. And Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, used two paid Tigani employees to erect campaign signs without reporting the favor.

No lawmakers were charged, with Veasey citing the statute of limitations, a lack of proof in some cases and prosecutorial discretion. Veasey recommended in December "substantially increased power and funding" for the ethics office, including additional investigative authority, and said "going forward, such gifting, if unreported, should not be excused."

The legislation, which has not yet been introduced, would require lobbyists to pay the fee for each client they represent. It's unclear how much money would be raised through the registration fees. The bill would allow the commission to set the fee each year.

Even if a $100 fee was paid for all 965 employers represented in Dover, that would amount to only $96,500, leaving the commission's budget far short of budgets in other states.

Contact Jonathan Starkey at 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.